Investigation of the eigth grade students mental models related with heat and its transfer

The subject of Heat and Heat Transfer is one of the common topics placed in the curriculum of the Science and Technology Course. The main goal of this research is to elicit students' mental models on Heat and Heat Transfer. The research was conducted as a case study. To determine the students' mental models, a data collection tool has been developed by taking into account the Science and Technology curriculum, the studies made in this field and the opinions of experts. This improved data collection tool consists of 12 open-ended questions including 3 questions of each of the subjects; heat, heat-substance interference, heat conduction and heat transmission types. The data collection tool developed was administered to randomly selected 235 eighth grade students from three different secondary schools in the town of Kastamonu and its County Taşköprü. In order to elicit the mental models of the students in terms of Heat and Heat Transfer, the students' level of learning in the sub-subjects Heat, Heat-Substance Interference, Heat Conduction and the types of Heat Conduction were identified. The students' mental models have been identified by considering their levels of understanding. These Mental Models are defined as Primitive, Synthesis and Scientific Models. The Primitive Model is the state of being not consistent of the knowledge of students with the scientific knowledge. The Synthesis Model is the state in which the knowledge of students is partially overlapping and partially non-overlapping with the scientific knowledge. The Scientific Model is the state in which the student information is overlapping with the school information. After the examination of the obtained results, it was determined that the students' mental models which they own about heat transfer was mainly a Synthesis Model. At the end of the study it was determined that students' mental models is not at the desired level. In the light of results, it is suggested that the learning activities and materials should be prepared by considering students' possible mental models. In this sense, it has been suggested that considering the practices of the alternative ideas identified in the studies on heat transfer and the sub-subjects of heat placed in the curriculum should be set in a more holistic way.